Online Oil Marketer Launches in Massachusetts

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Slick Energy, an online heating oil marketplace, launched on Sept. 27, announcing that it is serving consumers in Massachusetts, with plans to expand throughout New England next year.

“Consumers can now purchase home heating oil quickly, online and at the absolute best price,” the company, based in Newburyport, Mass., says in a statement.

Slick estimates residential customers will be able to save up to 20% or, on average, $200-$300 per year on home heating oil costs, Chris Buchanan, co-founder of Slick Energy, says.

Heating oil delivery companies in the Northeast are facing a rapidly changing market, with challenges that include route logistics, fluctuating seasonal demand and payment systems plagued by bounced checks, Buchanan says.

But the key driver of change in the market is today’s consumer, Buchanan says, “who expects on-demand delivery, superior customer service and the ability to search for and quickly receive the most competitive price for home heating oil in their market.”

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The first home oil delivery company to partner with Slick is Oppure Oil in Winchendon, Mass. “Our customers want to shop for their heating oil the same way they shop for most everything and that is online and on demand,” says Mike Hatzopoulos, co-owner of Oppure Oil. “Partnering with Slick Energy allows us to increase our competitiveness and efficiently obtain and service new customers in our market,” he says.

The founders of Slick Energy say its online platform (www.slickenergy.com) pools heating oil orders based on geographic regions; the company uses the data to broker “highly competitive” prices with local delivery companies. “Delivery companies receive a new pipeline of tech-savvy customers and are able to develop better and longer-lasting relationships with them, while maintaining healthy margins,” Slick Energy says in its announcement.

Along with Buchanan, the co-founders of Slick are Rob Lawless and P.J. Solomon. The partners’ experience is in the energy, technology and consumer sectors, and they’ve held leadership roles in Facebook, Hubspot, Monster, NRGTree and Boston Solar, among others, according to the statement.

Slick’s Advisory Board includes Richard Trethewey from This Old House; Jesse Strew, co-founder of Rocket Insights, a software developer in Newburyport, Mass.; and Bob Woodruff Jr., president of fuel dealer Woodruff Energy, Bridgeton, N.J.

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